Facebook Home declares war on Google, Android, and Windows Phone – and might just win, too

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Late yesterday, Facebook unveiled an Android home screen replacement called Home. In the same fell swoop, Facebook also released its first smartphone — the HTC First — and declared war on both Google and Windows Phone. For Facebook, where mobile has always been its weakest link, yesterday was a very big day indeed.

Facebook Home is essentially an Android app that replaces your current home screen. This might not sound all that exciting from the outset, but just think about it for a moment — think about how often you look at your smartphone’s home screen. You will see Facebook Home every time you unlock your phone, every time you launch an app, every time you try to make a call or send a text. At a glance, Facebook Home will start scrolling through your news feed, each status update overlaid on a full-screen photo — and if you have an actual Facebook phone (the HTC First), Home will also act as the Android notification tray (missed calls, texts, push notifications from other apps, etc.)

As you can imagine, Home also makes it very easy to post status updates and photos — just drag your portrait up and the App Launcher appears, which is basically the standard Android app launcher, but with Status, Photo, and Check-In buttons at the top. You can customize which apps appear in the App Launcher, and add more screens if you have lots of apps. Dragging your portrait left opens up Facebook Messenger, and dragging it right switches to the last app you used. This enables a neat workflow: Open an app, pop back to the home screen to check Facebook, and then simply swipe right to continue where you left off. This definitely beats pushing-and-holding the home button (the Android default app switcher).

The killer feature of Facebook Home, though, is Chat Heads. You can drag Chat Heads anywhere on your phone’s screen, and tap them if you want to open a chat window. These Chat Heads and chat windows float on top of other apps; you don’t have to switch to Messenger to chat to friends. You can carry on a conversation while surfing the web or playing Angry Birds. Very, very cool.

In short, Facebook Home turns Android into a people-first experience. This won’t be for everyone, but for anyone who primarily uses their phone to keep in touch with friends and upload photos, Facebook Home probably sounds like your idea of heaven. Remember, Facebook has over 1 billion monthly active users, with 680 million of those using Facebook mobile products. These users upload around 500 million photos per day, many of which are uploaded directly from smartphones. If you don’t like the idea of a people-first smartphone, you are probably in the minority.

With Facebook taking over the home screen, and thus a large proportion of the overall experience, where does this leave Android and Google? Well, for a start, the Google search bar that adorns almost every Android home screen, is gone. It isn’t entirely clear if widgets work with Facebook Home, but they probably don’t, therefore ruling out a lot of widgets for Google’s other products. The Facebook Home App Launcher lacks a link to the Google Play App Store, too. Just in general terms, too, you can expect Facebook Home users to spend more time Facebooking, rather than clicking Google’s ads on the web and in apps. In short, it isn’t good for Google — but, hey, at least Facebook didn’t go the Amazon route and actually fork Android. It does sound as if the HTC First will feature a slightly different version of Android, though, to enable deeper Facebook Home integration, so I wouldn’t be surprised if an official fork occurred in the future.

The other victim of Facebook Home will be Windows Phone. One of WP8’s strongest suits is deep social integration, with in-your-face Live Tiles providing constant updates and the ability to open chats from the home screen. If you were thinking about picking up a Windows Phone for its socialness, you would now be probably better off getting an Android with Facebook Home (remember, Windows Phone still doesn’t have Instagram, too). I wonder how Microsoft, with its big block of Facebook stock, feels about Facebook Home. The only consolation, I suppose, is that Windows Phone doesn’t really have any market share to lose.

Seriously stop spamming google news with Facebook home. I only need it once.

Also facebook are not competing with google. Google said so in a public quote about customizing

http://www.TheGuruReview.net TGR

I guess Facebook is going to become just as nosey as Google with taking, collecting and selling everyone’s personal data. Furthermore, I see all types of security issues that will revolve around FB and Android being a major home to malware. What are the security measures that FB took to make sure PII is safe?

IneffableCause

They’re already worse. They’ve even said that you don’t own your data and it’s unreasonable for you to think you should have any control over your personal information.

chojin999

The Facebook Home phone it’s just another Android fraud. And a fraud like Facebook.

Once the rich people behind this frauds like BitCoin will have stolen enough or decide that’s time to switch to another fraud they will sink ship and quit with the money.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Guy-Falkes/100002818174802 Guy Falkes

Facebook is for dummies, Bitcoin is for exchange…. two very different things.

Reginald Spence II

“The only consolation…is that Windows Phone doesn’t really have any market share to lose.”

Lol… That’s pretty damning but it is what it is.

http://www.facebook.com/hemakumar.vajjha Hemakumar Vajjha

Yes.Agreed as micrsoft need not depend on non-productive facebook or andriod games(or apps you call) to build share. It always depended,depends and will depend on enterprises for revenue.

IneffableCause

Well it could cut into Microsoft’s growth. MS is in it for the long game and their plan is a good one.

On Xbox they didn’t plan on making a profit until the third generation, with a focus on making a good product. And the unit turned profitable in the seconds generation.

There was a similar plan with Zune, gain market over time. ZuneHD was a far superior product to the iPod when it launched, just that someone at MS was short sighted.

MS has good focus on Windows Phone, don’t count them out yet.

Igor

Despite Facebook’s 1 billion active users, the rest 6 billion people on planet earth couldn’t care less about having Facebook take over their home screen. Also, I’m quite sure that major privacy implications will follow, once Facebook “inadvertently” reveals your private habits to the highest bidder.

IneffableCause

I’m sure a large number for those 1 billion active users wouldn’t want this either.

Marc Razia

…and I bet a good percentage of those “1 billion” users are gamers with five or more accounts who may or may not even own a phone.

GatzLoc

Yea, over the years I probably got like 10 accounts.. maybe a few more. :$ :P

http://www.facebook.com/people/Guy-Falkes/100002818174802 Guy Falkes

Just shows that there are more than 1 billion active losers in the world.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1055886715 Caroline Evans

Another thing to figure is that the 1 billion number is certain to be padded in pretty large ways.

http://www.facebook.com/jay.p.908 Jay P

FB can’t even make a half decent official app on any platform

http://twitter.com/CHRISLEE1992 Lee

aside from the ‘chat heads’ feature I see no difference between facebook home and WP8 people hub

Pedal_Harder

“Windows Phone doesn’t really have any market share to lose”

I guess you have not been paying attention….

http://www.facebook.com/hemakumar.vajjha Hemakumar Vajjha

Thanks for paying attention and making a comment.

Sipho Mfungi

so now facebook knows where you are at all times. people are being trained bit by bit to devalue their privacy

Uh, the Facebook interface is running on top of the Android OS so…
War on Android? Nope.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Guy-Falkes/100002818174802 Guy Falkes

When you are dumb as facebook you don’t know the difference between a OS and APP.

http://www.facebook.com/roger.s.roth Roger Stephen Roth

Facebook is a company that should start making other electronic products from phones, televisions, maybe even computers. It would be a mistake for Facebook to rely on its social networking cash cow forever. Facebook is a phenomenal success because it is a communications network that was able to do what the e-mail was not able to, make daily user interaction on the internet seem as real as it is in real life. However facebook flaws as a company lie as their main weakness, disrespect for private information and data, violations of invasion of privacy selling users personal data to third parties for demographics and illegal marketing campaigns. The United States Government has to hold companies like Facebook, Google or any other information technology accountable if they abuse people’s personal information by illegal means. Users should be entitled to equal protection in the internet from affecting their own lives and even their careers.

azim

but they didn’t asked u to join or forced u to join,,
u could have backed off u had concerns about privacy,,
.
Facebook is not a company, it’s a mint..

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1055886715 Caroline Evans

Facebook is living on both borrowed time and borrowed money.

Its “IPO” was more an indication that the founders know it is doomed and they see it on the horizon than an indication of success. That was the only way to cash in with people who have money but no real access to the inner workings of the organization.

Think AOL…. think MySpace…. for that matter think Compuserve…. and then realize that Facebook is only a fad away from collapse. It is a horrible advertising platform…. and is grossly overpriced compared to its actual usefulness as an advertising medium. They depend on spammer-types and newbies to business who don’t know much about marketing AND have money to spend…. per an SBA loan…or sideline hobby-business that can go belly up
with few repercussions for the business operator.

Facebook was and is a novelty of some interest for a while… eventually… it will wear itself out…. and some new ‘killer ap’ will arise.

Niels

The default app switcher you mention is long gone mate. About two years ago to be exact. You’ve got the multitask (software)button for that since Ice Cream Sandwich…

Mark Neil Marago

hmm. i don’t think facebook users aren’t notified about the privacy they’re going to publicized. Everytime we installed an app, facebook will ask you if it’s okay to share this one or that one, right? there’s no problem as long as they will not use our personal data without first letting us know.

Hamid Dev

I don’t know why some one need to turn his phone to Facebook slave

Kurt Prochnow

No thanks. If I want to take a peek at fecebook then I can open the app for it when I want it. Nothing on there is so important that I want it always on.

Sinned66

Notice it’s all broads in the video! I don’t use facebook and any one with a brain stays away from facebook.

Benjamin Gibson

Facebook now officiall sucks on ios!

http://twitter.com/Marble_Shark Marble Shark

I think it’s fair to say ‘facebook’ is utter bollocks…

http://www.facebook.com/people/Guy-Falkes/100002818174802 Guy Falkes

Facebook…. for those that have no life and wish to share their misfortune with others.

http://www.facebook.com/along123 Mohammad Fauzi Taib

u guys yack and nag ..in the end u’ll still use it ..:p

http://teddyotero.com/ drokkon

I’ve been a loyal Windows Phone user for 3 years now, and I’m miserable when I have to work with iOS and Android, which I do. I may not get why market share has stayed so low, but it is what it is. Anyway, Facebook Home may well challenge WP as you say, but it should be noted that Windows Phone has deep integration with multiple social networks, not just FB. My Live Tiles give me Tweets, LinkedIn posts, text message, missed calls and voicemails from one contact or groups of contacts, in any of three sizes!

I’d love to see some more information about Microsoft’s response to Facebook Home, because their investment in FB (and the thought that perhaps the Facebook phone would be a Windows Phone) was the first thing on my mind when I heard the news. Quite honestly, horrible app aside, the stock Windows Phone OS has, from day one, provided the closest thing to a “Facebook Phone” experience anyway!

IneffableCause

People are starting to get tired of facebook. Only small numbers of people are doing anything about it, but that’s how it starts. We’re in a world of constant change and they could fall as quickly as MySpace did.

Bob Beggs

Home is terrific if you need an app to push advertising to your phone.

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